NewsGuard, a New York-based company that investigates and monitors false information online, has identified 250 websites that actively spread Russian disinformation about the war, with dozens of them popping up in recent months. As reported on Tuesday, August 9 by the AP agency, this trend was apparently a response to the EU’s decision to ban the broadcast of the RT channel and the work of the Sputnik agency.

About half of the sites are in English, others are in French, German or Italian. Many were created long before the war but were not clearly associated with Moscow until they suddenly began publishing a pro-Kremlin agenda, experts say. Narratives being promoted include allegations that the Ukrainian side organized a series of deadly attacks to gain support from the international community and that Ukrainian refugees are committing crimes in Germany and Poland.

Experts: RT video materials are distributed on social media under a new brand

Furthermore, the European Disinformation Situation Center (DSC) found that RT videos are circulating on social media under a new brand and with a different logo or no logo at all.

“Instead of implementing effective content moderation systems, they (social networks. – Ed.) are catching up with the Kremlin’s disinformation apparatus,” said Felix Kartte, a senior adviser at the British NGO Reset, which founded the DSC.

At the same time, as noted by the AP agency, experts also identified sites that distribute pro-Ukrainian propaganda, in particular, the urban legend about the military pilot “Ghost of Kyiv”, but the number of such resources is significantly lower than the pro-Ukrainian ones. -Kremlin.

The Luxembourg court rejected RT’s request

Earlier, on 27 July, the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg rejected the claim of the TV channel RT France against the Council of the EU on the issue of banning the channel from broadcasting in the European Community. The decision was issued by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of General Jurisdiction.

An instance in Luxembourg concluded that the Council of the EU confirmed the fact of RT France’s “active support” of “Russian policy of destabilization and aggression” against Ukraine. In addition, the channel broadcast information that justified Russia’s war against Ukraine and could pose a significant threat to public order and security in the EU, Luxembourg said.

The decision to ban broadcasting was adopted by the Council of the EU

On March 1, the Council of the EU decided to ban the broadcast of RT English, RT UK, RT Germany, RT France, RT Spanish, as well as the Sputnik agency. As justification, in particular, it has been said that Russia is spreading propaganda through these channels to justify its aggression against Ukraine and thus threaten the public order and security of the EU. RT France responded by filing a lawsuit with the European Court of Justice and also filed a preliminary legal protection request to lift the ban.